


Study Groups

by RandomdudeNo123



Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Complete
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:00:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24734305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RandomdudeNo123/pseuds/RandomdudeNo123
Summary: In order to prepare for one of Koro-Sensei's dreaded tests, the students of Class 3-E begin teaching each other on their specialties. Will their distinct personalities make or break their reviews?
Comments: 10
Kudos: 71





	1. Nagisa, Karma, and Sugino

Slumped into a chair, Nagisa groaned at all the figures swimming around in his notebook. Right beside him, Sugino was sweating bullets, furiously writing down equations like his life depended on it. Neither of them dared turn around, but they could both sense an aura of megalomaniacal malevolence, perhaps emanating from a red-headed devil.

How had it come to this? Nagisa wondered.

* * *

It all began the day before, on a Friday. Koro-Sensei had just announced one of his overly difficult quizzes at the end of next week, much to the dismay of everyone who wasn't faculty. While not as painfully unfair as the midterms or finals, Koro-Sensei's tests differed in that each one was specifically designed to target your weakest links. Because of this, the class would usually split into small groups, each of them teaching the others in order for everyone to receive a better grade. Last time, Nagisa had found himself teaching Okuda and Terasaka in English. This time, he wasn't so lucky.

Karma Akabane had wrapped one arm around his back, like an Anaconda squeezing the life out of it's prey. His other arm had attached itself to Sugino, who was being dragged around like a doll. "So, how about it, Nagisa? You teach English, I teach Math, and Sugino trains us for P.E?"

Laughing nervously, Nagisa accepted. Of course, he had heard tales of Karma's… Teaching methods, but since Terasaka was the one telling the tales, Nagisa assumed that it was all exaggeration. Oh, how wrong he was.

* * *

The day began simply enough. After the three of them had met up at Karma's place, Nagisa was the first one to begin tutoring. Compared to everyone else's lesson plans, his was the most normal. First, all three of them would take turns reading excerpts from one of Koro-sensei's personal recommendations. After they had slurred through an entire chapter, Karma and Sugino would write short essays on what they had understood, and Nagisa would coach them on Grammar. Simple enough.

It was after that when things began going downhill. "Come to the kitchen. We'll do math there." Karma didn't even bother hiding his evil glee. Shooting worried glances at each other, both Nagisa and Sugino hurried over to the kitchen.

They were both right to be worried. Bottles upon bottles of random kitchen ingredients were crammed onto a singular table, with two glasses of water shimmering deceptively. 

"What's all this?" Sugino asked, fear evident in his voice.

"I'm glad you asked, Sugino." Tossing them two worksheets, Karma set a timer in front of the two. "This is what I like to call… _Motivation_. Pass the worksheets I've given you, and you'll be treated to a nice, sparkling cup of water. Answer them wrong, and… Let's just say I have Okuda on speed-dial."

A big sweatdrop on his face, Nagisa stared at Karma. "You just wanted to try your poisons on us, didn't you?"

With a big grin as his answer, Karma pointed at the timer. "Better focus, Nagisa. Every second you spend falsely accusing your best friend is a question you won't answer."

Groaning, Nagisa began assaulting the worksheet with a passion.

* * *

Nagisa's breathing was ragged and heavy. Kneeling down in defeat, he felt like he had just taken a shot to the gut. His vision blurred, and it took all his strength just to stay conscious. Floating down like a broken bird, his worksheet fell in front of him. On it, a massive 0 taunted him. _Not even a single correct answer?_

Somewhere in his general vicinity, Sugino was yelling at Karma. "No way were those questions fair! _Calculate the amount of water displaced if Koro-Sensei jumped into a 30x30 Porcelain Bathtub_? How the hell were we supposed to answer that?"

Stirring what appeared to be brown sludge, Karma shrugged. "You think the Asano's are gonna play fair? I'm only preparing you out of the goodness of my heart." The fact that the teaspoon Karma was using appeared to be half-melted worried Nagisa greatly.

"You say that EVERY TIME we study for a test!"

Holding two cups of his own homemade poison, Karma shrugged. "I work with what I've been given. Drink up, you two!" With that, he set both cups down in front of the two.

Shutting his eyes tight, Nagisa gulped down the whole thing. Almost instantly, a fresh wave of nausea came over him, and he wobbled to his feet. Glancing at Sugino, he wasn't handling the situation much better. His eyes watering, the pitcher broke his own personal speed records hunting down a bathroom. Casually leaning against the refrigerator, Karma sipped a can of Cola. It could have just been his imagination, but Nagisa suspected Karma was intentionally sipping louder just to taunt them. "Once you two are done, we'll go over what exactly you did wrong. Then you'll retake the worksheets."

"And what if we fail again?" The young boy staggered, leaning against a wall. Thankfully, while the drink was foul tasting, it didn't seem to have actually poisoned Nagisa.

"Well, if you really want another serving that badly…" Karma smiled, much to Nagisa's horror.

* * *

Mastering the worksheets took 5 painful attempts, and Karma generously offered them healthy servings of _motivation_ with each failure. Finally, on the 6th try, they had managed to defeat Karma's worksheets.

"See?" Karma smiled confidently. "The training works because I'm a sadist."

Spitting out some black sludge onto the sink, Sugino washed his mouth to get rid of any lingering juice. "The training works despite you being a sadist." Nagisa wiped his mouth with a spare tissue, mouth still recoiling from the aftertaste. 

* * *

Finally, it was time for their P.E training. While officially under Mr. Karasuma, the government agent preferred to devote his time to either actually training the students or filing reports on the mission's status. Which meant that in practice, Koro-Sensei would still be the one grading them during P.E, which in turn meant P.E was likely one of the subjects to be covered during Koro-Sensei's test.

Sugino claimed that his training improved aerobics, hand-eye coordination, reflex time, and eyesight. In theory, this involved tracking small, fast moving targets and capturing them mid-air. In practice, this boiled down to throwing baseballs out in an open field. 

Leaping up into the air, a blue streak of lightning soared up into the sky. Intercepting the baseball, Nagisa twirled, using the momentum of the projectile to boost his own throw. The baseball hurtled down to earth like a meteor, a blinding white sphere. Flinging himself forward, Sugino stretched his arms, letting the ball crash straight into his glove. Now at a standstill, both Sugino and Karma stared confidently at each other, eyes fixed. Winding up into his favourite stance, the pitcher's eyes were fired up.

"Here it comes! SUGI… STRIKE!" His full power imparted into the shot, Sugino launched the ball at Karma. The ball shot out so quickly that to Nagisa, it seemed as if it had simply vanished as soon as he let go. Karma Akabane was not so easily outdone, however. Stretching his arms like he was bored, he raised his glove to the sky. In an instant, the ball rematerialized in his palm. Unfortunately for the would-be catcher, the ball's momentum was too much for him to handle, dragging him into the ground in an unceremonious heap.

Pushing himself back in a sitting position, Karma began stifling his laughter. "Sugi Strike? Really?"

"It sounded better in my head." Sugino snapped defensively.

"Hey, Sugino… Was this actually P.E training, or did you just get bored and wanted to play Catch?" Nagisa's voice held no accusations, but rather confusion. He had expected something more… Assassin related.

An energetic smile on his face, Sugino shrugged. "Don't tell me you guys weren't bored. We spent the whole day doing nothing but English and Math!" With a good-natured smirk, Sugino pulled Karma back on his feet. 

"So, who's up for a few more rounds?" His competitive spirit in full swing now, Sugino grinned wildly. Seeing the look in his eyes, Karma and Nagisa also smiled in anticipation, ready for the ball to start flying. 

A brief thought echoed in Nagisa's mind, right before it was forgotten in the rush of the game. _I wonder how others are doing?_

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Sugi Strike is actually the name of one of Sugino's spells in Koro-Sensei's quest. 
> 
> One thing AC never quite delves into is how much the students actually learn in Koro-Sensei's class. There are the midterms/finals episodes, but that's about it. In case anyone's wondering, I do plan on giving all the students of Class 3-E some screen time. I'll only update the tags when the new chapters come out, though. (As per always, advice and suggestions are always welcome.)
> 
> Up next is a trio you'll never see coming! (Mostly because nobody ever writes about them...)
> 
> (23/06/2020) Edit: Removed some unnecessary lines to make reading the story easier, and moved Chapter 1's note to the correct page.


	2. Kimura, Takebayashi, and Chiba

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is an OC stand in for Justice's father. He plays a semi-important role in this chapter.

_ The old training facility, huh?  _ Chiba's face remained as passive as ever as he took in the sight. It was a simple concrete building, painted in a flaking blue paint and covered in inspirational recruitment posters. The field behind it was blocked off with copious amounts of barbed wire, concrete walls, and other unpleasant instruments of pain. Further out, an open field of random obstacles loomed. Beside him, Takebayashi grimaced at the barbed wire, his posture slumped. 

"Are we going to have to run through that obstacle course?" 

"Seems like it."

"I was hoping for a day off…"

Standing in front of the doorway, they both took a deep breath before stepping into the lobby of the training facility. Subconsciously, Chiba had assumed that Justice would have been waiting in the lobby by himself to greet them. In reality, a surprisingly large number of hardened policemen milled about, and none of them were Justice. All eyes turned to stare at the two middle schoolers who just entered. Before either of them could ask for Kimura, a particularly tall policeman emerged from the mob. The man towered over the middle schoolers, a veritable fortress. His eyes were jovial, his mouth curved into a friendly smile. "Welcome to the Metropolitan Police Department. I assume you boys are Justice's schoolmates?" Upon seeing their affirmative nods, he continued. "Great! The name's Hiroizumu Kimura. My boy's in the cafeteria, just waiting for you two."

_ Heroism? Looks like the names run in the family… _ Chiba thought to himself. 

"Now, before I let you two off, I've got a few questions." As if a switch was flicked, all traces of levity vanished, leaving only a cold, intimidating stare. Takebayashi gulped nervously. "Are you two in a gang?"

"No, sir."

"Do you take illegal drugs?"

"No, sir."

"Have you either trespassed or littered recently?"

"No, sir."

"If a shady man in a trench coat offers you drugs, what do you do?"

"Run away, sir."

"Looks like you two pass." Hiroizumu's face relaxed back into his usual grin. "Justice's in the cafeteria, two doors after you enter the left hallway. Once your study group's done, I'll let you tour the facility, maybe let you fire off a few shots at the target range. Sounds good?"

"Yes, sir." Although his facial expression denied it, Chiba was extremely excited to handle a real gun. Since the guns they had used on Koro-Sensei were essentially realistic toy guns, he often wondered how different a real gun would be. Takebayashi didn't seem to share his enthusiasm, judging by the resignation on his own face.

"Well then, no time to waste, soldiers!" Stepping aside, he let the duo pass through.

* * *

Justice was wearing a pair of shades. The look didn't suit him at all, and Chiba was not afraid to tell him. As Justice explained, he didn't want to be left out of the  _ unseeable eyes _ thing the duo had going on.

"What? That's ridiculous, you can definitely see through my glasses."

"No, we can't. They always have this weird light on them that we can't see through." To prove his point, Justice snapped a photo of him, then tossed his phone at Takebayashi. True to his word, two bright lights obscured his eyes. 

"That's strange…" Taking off his glasses, Takebayashi took a good look at the lenses. They seemed to be normal, run of the mill glasses. His emerald eyes now narrowed in confusion, he put them back on. "I'll conduct some experiments on this phenomenon later. Right now, it's study time. Chiba?"

A pen and paper in his hands, Chiba quickly scribbled down a new equation. "Solve it, step by step. I'll keep watch."

* * *

Scratching his head in frustration, Justice tried to focus on the question. It was the third attempt now and he was still no closer to getting it right. Rushing through the problem, he quickly scrawled notes down on the equations.  _ If the result for the first step was 6, then I need to multiply it with the 2nd part's numerator. Or was it the denominator? Or maybe it's both? Come to think of it, where the hell did 6 come from?! _

"Want to know what you're doing wrong?" Chiba stared down at Justice's messy paper, random numbers and crossed out equations scattered everywhere.

"Yes, please." Justice pushed his paper towards Chiba, taking the moment to resharpen his pencil. Graphite tips were scattered around the table like used bullet casings, an afterthought in the war on math. 

"You rush through it too fast. You just want to finish the problem and move on, correct?"

"Yeah… As long as I answer all the answers on the test, I'll be fine, right?"

"You'll never improve if you keep rushing." Sparing other people's feelings wasn't his strong point. Tearing off another sheet of paper, he put it down directly in front of Justice. "Show me how you solved it, step by step." 

Justice blanched. "Can't I just show you the finished product?"

"You'll improve when you start to take it slowly. Solve the problem. I'll watch while you do."

* * *

"Take a break." Two hours had passed now. Despite there being no outward hints of frustration, Chiba could feel the tension rising within Justice. Call it either intuition or his experience as a tutor speaking, but he could sense that they wouldn't be making any more progress today.

Sighing in both relief and defeat, Justice dropped his pencil back onto the table. Progress had been made, but it hadn't been much. At the very least, he wasn't snapping his pencil as much anymore. "I doubt I'll ever be good at Math though."

"You're getting better." The edges of Chiba's mouth tilted upwards. Patting him on the shoulder, he took away the offending sheets of paper. Across the table, Takebayashi dully chewed on some biscuits he bought from the cafeteria. Right beside him, a neat stack of papers was all that was left from Chiba's math questions. If it wasn't for his sluggish chewing, Chiba would have sworn he was asleep.

"Takebayashi, Biology time." 

* * *

He couldn't admit it in front of anyone, but Takebayashi was bored to death of teaching Biology. It wasn't the biology itself, of course, but rather the ridiculous amount of times he'd read, watched, and explained it to other people. Furthermore, it always had to be the very basics he had to explain, each and every time! Either nobody knew about what a White Blood Cell was, or they were all far too polite to interrupt his speech on White Blood Cells. Takebayashi dearly hoped it was the latter.

On the other hand, it didn't seem like either of his classmates were particularly interested, either. Justice was slumped over, his shades barely covering his shut eyes. Not that it would have helped, because he snored far too loudly to hide it. At least Chiba was awake. Head propped up only by his arms, his breathing rhythmic, but awak-  _ Hold on… _

"Chiba, can you summarize the last two points?" No response. Great. The lesson was apparently so boring that it had knocked out his entire audience. Giving up, Takebayashi dropped down onto a chair in a huff. With nothing else to do, he watched the two, hoping that one of them would wake up so he could continue the lesson. Justice continued snoring, and Chiba's face remained as passive as ever. Quiet breaths left through his lungs, passing through his throat, and eventually left the mouth, ruffling his bangs.

_ His bangs. _

Takebayashi's eyes widened, realizing the golden opportunity that had been laid in front of him. Within the confines of Class 3-E, there were 3 major mysteries that nobody had been able to solve.  _ What were Okaijima's most dangerous photos, Was Nagisa really as dense as he seemed, and What do Chiba's eyes look like?  _ All he needed to do was brush the hair away, and he'd finally have the answer to a question even Koro-Sensei couldn't answer. As a true man of science, he couldn't let this opportunity slip past him.  Slowly, he leaned forward.

Slowly.

He held his breath.

Slowly…

A trembling hand reached closer.

Slowly…

He touched the first strand. 

In an instant, his hand was caught in an iron grip. With excessive force, it was wrenched away from the bangs and back onto the table, slamming down with a large  _ Bang! _ Terrified, all Takebayashi could do was watch. Slowly, almost relaxed, Chiba shook himself awake. "Oh. It's only you." Seeing Takebayashi pinned down onto the table in an awkward manner, Chiba's arm unconsciously slacked. "What were you doing?"

"Er, nothing!" 

* * *

A loud  _ BANG!  _ startled him awake. Instincts kicking in, Justice wildly flung his head around, quickly assessing for any potential threats. Instead of a threat, he instead found Takebayashi pathetically losing what appeared to be an arm-wrestling game. "Ah, jeez. Did I sleep through the science lesson?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Both of you." Takebayashi crossed his arms, the very image of annoyed frustration. Inwardly, however, he secretly thanked whatever higher beings there were for the convenient distraction.

Mollified, both of the nappers muttered nervous apologies. 

"Don't worry about it. I'll just find a way to make the next session more engaging. In the meanwhile, don't we have a course to run?" It was suspicious to be interested in a course he had previously complained about, Takebayashi knew. However, anything was better than having to explain what exactly he was doing when he leaned across the table.

* * *

Hiroizumu Kimura was perturbed. When he saw Justice's classmates for the first time, he had sensed something… off about them. Their stance, their posture. All of it differed from your average civilian. His first instinct was to guess that both of them were gangsters, or a part of some sort of organization. However, when he had very subtly asked them if they had any criminal backgrounds, they had both denied it without any hint of deceit. Suppressing his suspicions, he let them through.

Now, watching them run through the obstacle course, the questions began resurfacing. His son was in first, to no surprise. The obstacle course was practically his playground ever since he could walk, and he was a very fast runner. What did concern him, however, was how well his classmates were keeping up. Slipping through the hurdles, hopping the tires, they breezed through the course with a grace that betrayed a professional's training. Hiroizumu frowned, an eyebrow raised.  _ Just who exactly are these kids? _

"First again!" Raising his hands in victory, Justice ran past the finish line in a triumphant blaze. Trailing behind, both of his classmates crossed seconds after.  _ 4 minutes 30 seconds. They finished the course in average time… _

"Excuse us for a minute. Justice, could you come with me?"  Startled, Justice glanced off to the side. His father stood there, his face masked from any emotions. Justice knew the look well. It was the same look his father had given him when he snuck into the armory with his brother to test out the tasers. 

"Chiba, Takebayashi, take a few breaths. We'll run through the course a few more times once we're done." 

Stepping out of the way, both Father and Son walked off a short distance. 

* * *

"Justice Kimura. Would you mind telling me who exactly your friends are?"

"Huh? They're my classmates…" Hiroizumu knew that look on his son's face. It was the same look he wore when he and his brother tried to sneak into the armory to play with the tasers. Shifty eyes, shut mouth.  _ It looks like I'll have to delve deeper… _

"When you and your friends ran through the training course, you did it in 4 minutes and 30 seconds."

"Isn't that average?"

"It's average for trained policemen. All of you are middle schoolers."

"Our P.E teacher is really strict." Justice wouldn't make eye contact. Fidgeting, his fingers played with the hem on his shirt.

Hiroizumu's face softened. "Justice Kimura. I can tell you're lying. Is this something you can talk about right now?"

For a brief moment, both Kimura's held their breath. "No." 

"All right." Hiroizumu withdrew, sighing in defeat. "Whenever you're ready, all you need to do is ask, OK? Your mother and I will listen."

"Yes, dad." Justice felt a small pang of guilt, but there was nothing he could do. Explaining their training meant explaining Mr. Karasuma, which in turn meant having to explain Koro-Sensei, a top-priority government secret.

"You'd better go now. Your friends are probably waiting for you." Patting Justice on the shoulder, he gently pushed him towards his classmates. Glad it was finally over, Justice headed back towards the obstacle course.

* * *

Training didn't last much longer after that. Once Justice told them about his father's suspicions, they all agreed to call it off for the day to avoid any more suspicion. Justice's father offered to take them home in his cruiser, but they had both declined on the grounds that (seemingly) being arrested was cause for expulsion. The last thing either of them needed was some Class 3-A students seeing them sat in the back of a police car. 

Leaning further back into the bus seat, Chiba suppressed the urge to groan. As much as he hated to admit it, the day had not been fruitful. Math was unfinished, he had slept through Science, and P.E was cut short to keep the Assassination Classroom a secret. Worst of all, he couldn't even test out a real sniper rifle on a target! Closing his barely visible eyes, Chiba prayed tomorrow would be more fruitful. Briefly, he wondered how everyone else was getting along.  _ Hope the others are studying better... _

* * *

Bonus:

"So, it's a reflex?"

"Yes. Every time someone tries to touch my bangs, my hand shoots out and grabs them. I actually caught Koro-Sensei once with it." A brief silence passes. "Do you want to try it?"

"Er… No. No thank you!" Takebayashi rubbed his wrist. It was still sore from the surprise smackdown.

Another silence passes.

"Wait, was that what you were doing when I was asleep-"

"Well, looks like my stop is here. Bye!" Not missing a beat, Takebayashi leapt off the seat and dropped off 12 blocks away from his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a... difficult chapter to write. Both Justice and Takebayashi are two of the most underutilized characters in fanfics, which is a darn shame. Chiba is more common, but if you have him, you're almost required to bring Hayami in at some point. Having this underutilized trio interact was interesting to imagine!
> 
> That being said... I'm not too pleased with how this one turned out. The ideas I had didn't really pan out all too well on paper, and I feel the transitions between the subjects weren't great. Ah well, the next one should be easier. As per usual, feel free to tell me about mistakes/improvements in the comments.
> 
> Next up: The masters of Home Economics!


	3. Terasaka, Itona, Muramatsu, and Yoshida

"The test? Don't worry about it!" Dropping his feet on his own table, Terasaka's misplaced confidence echoed from his entire being, much to the exasperation of everyone else in the room. 

"Seriously? You aren't worried about failing?" 

"Nope! In fact, that's what I'm aiming for!"

"Huh?"

"Think about it. Koro-Sensei gives personalized tests for each student. The smarter you are, the harder your test will be. In that case, if we keep failing our tests, Koro-Sensei will give us easier and easier tests! By the end of the semester, I'm gonna be breezing through the beginner's stuff while you're all struggling."

"... That's a stupid plan." Unimpressed, Itona stared blankly at Terasaka.

"Nurufufufu. Quite the opposite, Itona. It is actually quite clever!"

"See, even Koro-Sensei gets i- KORO-SENSEI?!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Goggling, Muramatsu and Yoshida stumbled backwards. Only Itona was unsurprised, having detected Koro-Sensei's surprise entrance a few minutes ago.

"After Terasaka failed his last few tests, I came here to help him review. Only to find out that Terasaka has been abusing the goodness of his poor Sensei's heart!" A comically oversized stream of tears poured out of his eyes. Before Terasaka could pull out an excuse, Koro-Sensei's face shifted. "As a punishment… I'm doubling your test questions."

"H-hey! Wait!" But Koro-sensei had disappeared, an opened window and the fading sounds of a _Nurufufufu_ the only proof he was ever there. Behind him, Terasaka could hear the sniggers of his so-called "Friends."

"You deserved it." 

"Shut up!"

* * *

It only took a few seconds for panic to begin setting in. It took a few seconds after that for Terasaka to scramble through his schoolbag in a blind rush. Flinging out all the garbage within his bag, he desperately scanned the bag for anything that could remotely be called "notes". 

"This is pathetic." Ducking a rubber knife, Itona watched as Terasaka's school bag erupted into a cascade of broken school supplies and assassination gear. All around them, the floor was quickly being filled with crumpled up pieces of paper. Picking up one of the discarded papers, Yoshida winced. It was a very crudely drawn scribble of an octopus, with what he assumed to be a knife hilt stuck in it's head.

Finally, the bag emptied. Turning it over, Terasaka shook it like a magical color-coded binder would appear if he shook hard enough. Unfortunately, the dust and paper scraps that did come out fell somewhat short of his expectations. Awkwardly turning to his classmates, half-buried in random junk, Terasaka put on a winning smile.

"Before you ask, No. You invited us over for a hangout, not a study group." None of them had even brought bags, much less anything to help study. The winning smile turned into a loser's grimace. 

"I have something." Pulling out his phone, Itona revealed carefully organized voice recordings. "All of Koro-Sensei's lessons are recorded here."

"Whoa, Itona, that's great!" Terasaka shouted. "Now, let's see how long we'll… 7 Hours?!" Terasaka's eyes weren't deceiving him.  _ 7:41:18  _ was blinking on the phone. "Itona, how do you watch all of that?"

"I listen to it while I sleep." Itona remained as deadpan as ever.

"Okaaayyy…" Unconsciously, everybody took a step away from Itona.

* * *

_ 2:15:08 _ . They had been listening to Koro-Sensei's lecture for about two hours now. Terasaka's eyes were glazed over, his pen having dropped from his hands a long time ago. Beside him, Muramatsu and Yoshida had fallen into a catatonic state, unresponsive and inert. Dropping all pretenses of actually listening, Itona was snoring gently on a couch. 

In short, it was just a regular school day, except on a weekend.

_ Nurufufufu! That'll be all for now!  _ Like a spell had been broken, motion began to stir among the frozen crowd. Rubbing his eyes, Terasaka blinked owlishly. In a daze, he glanced down at his well organized, extremely extensive notes. 

_ I before E except after C. _

That was the extent of his meticulously collected notes. Peeking over his shoulder, Muramatsu gently patted him on the back. The message was loud and clear:  _ Well, you're screwed. _

Unheeded, the recording continued on. Since Itona apparently didn't know what a pause button was, the entirety of the school day had been recorded. This included the 15 minute break periods interspersed between classes, much to the gang's eternal frustration. As the recording began to play the traditional classroom chatter, Terasaka scribbled down rapidly fading memories of the class. Rewatching-  _ Relistening? _ that recording would probably send him into a coma.

Suddenly, a voice spoke from the recording, much clearer than the general chatter. Whoever it was, they seemed to be speaking directly to what they assumed was Itona.

_ "Hey, Itona. Mind if I borrow the Peep Machine for a few days?" _ The unmistakable voice of Karma Akabane echoed from the recording. Clustering together, the trio's curiosity peaked. Just what exactly did the Red Devil need Itona's help for?

_ "The Itona 1."  _ Itona's own disinterested voice replied, a hint of annoyance within it.

_ "Itona 1. I'll give it back once I'm done with it." _

_ "What's in it for me?" _

_ A sigh emanates from the recording. "Okajima has a secret mag stash out in the mountains. Let me borrow it and I'll show you where he hides them." _

_ "Deal." The sound of footsteps fades away, and the classroom's chattering returns in full force. _

The trio glanced at each other, looks of horror etched on their faces. Notwithstanding the fact that Itona had essentially sold the entire class' safety out for a stack of old magazines, the thought of Karma having access to an undetectable remote-controlled camera/gun robot was enough to send shivers down anybody's spine. Needing an explanation, they gently shook the turncoat awake.

* * *

Itona felt as if he was being violently ripped apart. Rough hands jolted him out of his dreamworld, tossing him to and fro like a rowboat in a storm. Eyes popping open, he woke up to find three very panicked faces. A jumble of undecipherable sentences poured out of their mouths, words tripping over each other. Yawning, Itona sat up on the couch.

"Itona, did you really rent out the  _ Itona 1 _ to Karma for a pile of dirty old magazines?!"

_ Was that what this was about?  _ "Yes. Wouldn't you have taken the deal?"

"Wha- No- Maybe- That's not that point! You aren't supposed to be making deals with Karma! You know we have that Rivalry thing going on!" 

"It's not really a rivalry. It's more like Karma bullies you and the entire class laughs."

In an instant, the bullet pierces Terasaka's chest. No strength left to stand, he kneels down on the floor in defeat, head bowed down in surrender. _ So, this is what betrayal feels like… And by one of my own gang members…  _ "Terasaka? Terasaka!" Muramatsu ran over, cradling the corpse of his friend on his lap. Yoshida's breath froze in his lungs, shock evident on his face. Ignoring the hysterics, Itona turned around, falling asleep as if he didn't just shoot his gang leader in cold blood. 

The sound of a sonic boom snaps Terasaka back to reality. The student's chattering had now been replaced by Koro-Sensei's own brand of chatter, as he began going on about  _ covalent bonds  _ and  _ equivalent reactions _ and other scientific terms that none of them understood. Using the last of his energy, Terasaka's glazed eyes turned towards the timer.  _ 2:30:27. _ All motivation now dissipating from his body, he rolled off Muramatsu's lap and onto the couch's foot. Terasaka knew that trying to endure 5 more hours in his state would probably be suicide. No other options now, Terasaka played his final Trump Card. "Wanna give up?"

The rest of the gang nodded in sync. 

Collapsed on the couch's foot and devoid of strength, a very important thought occurs to Terasaka.  _ Who the hell can I crib some notes from? _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Truth be told, Terasaka's gang are my absolute favorites to write about! Having the gang just mess around and get annoyed by Koro-Sensei is just so fun. I even did a fic back on FF.net on them a few days ago. That being said, you might notice we're missing one member. I've got an interesting idea for her own review time, and I'm fairly certain nobody's gonna be able to guess who she's grouped up with.
> 
> Still need to work on scene transitions and endings, though...
> 
> Next up: Find out what happened to the Itona 1, and the unexpected hands it fell in!


	4. Okuda, Kanzaki, and Nakamura

"I'm so glad you could make it!" Beaming happily, Manami Okuda welcomed in her two of her closest classmates: Yukiko Kanzaki and Rio Nakamura. The top students in Japanese and English, respectively. If anyone could help her overcome her language issues, it would be them.

"Of course, Okuda. We'd be happy to come." Yukiko Kanzaki bowed shortly in greeting, secretly glad for the chance to study under the greatest chemist in Kunugigaoka Junior High. 

"Wouldn't miss it for the world!" Rio Nakamura grinned, one hand shaped into a thumb's up. Eyes narrowed in a furtive smile, she tried peeking over Okuda's shoulder. "So… Is Kayano here yet? 

"Kayano? She wanted to visit another group…" Scratching her head, Okuda gave her an apologetic look. "S-sorry. Looks like it's just us three!" 

Crumpling up a forged love letter, Nakamura flung it into the nearest trash bin. "Well, there go my plans for today…" she muttered, a look of disappointment on her face. Okuda and Kanzaki had similar looks of disappointment, but aimed at Nakamura's antics instead.

"W-well, come inside!" With no suitable response coming to mind, Okuda awkwardly let the two into her house.

* * *

Okuda's room was both painfully stereotypical and completely unexpected. Science books and Scientist posters littered the room, slowly stacking up over whatever flat surfaces Okuda could find. Neat sets of flasks, beakers, and tubes lay carefully polished on her shelves as well. This, Nakamura expected. What she hadn't expected was for the room to be so… _Witchlike?_ Dim golden lights illuminated the room, giving the room a fairytale like atmosphere. A pitcher of some sluggish green health supplement lay on her nightstand, a half empty _half full?_ glass next to it. Even Okuda's witch costume was on full display, hat hanging off a hook. 

None of that really captured Nakamura's interest, however. What did capture it was propped up on a desk and half hidden by a stack of old books. Stepping into the room, Nakamura's face turned ecstatic. _If that thing's what I think it is… This day might be worth it after all._

Kanzaki was the first to speak. Her face marred by slight discomfort, she turned to face Okuda. "Okuda… Isn't that the machine the boys were going to use to peep up our skirts?"

"Yes." Okuda didn't seem the slightest bit fazed.

"Where did you get it from?" 

"Who cares where she got it from?" Excitedly shoving both girls away, Nakamura picked up the drone to gaze upon its advanced technology. Holding it up against the golden light, she admired how the light reflected off the camouflaged paint. _Oh, the fun I could have with this thing…_

"Want to see what I do with it?" Okuda piped up, an excited grin on her face. Both of the girl's interest was fully piqued now. What exactly was Okuda doing that needed Itona's drone? _Maybe Okuda has a dark side after all…_

* * *

As it turned out, Okuda did not have a dark side after all. After opening all the windows to Okuda's room, Nakamura dully watched as a grabber claw slowly extended out of the _Itona 1._ Picking up a test tube, it trundled forwards a short distance, then poured it all into another flask. A small _bang!_ resounded, and the table was briefly covered in smoke. The smoke drifted outside the windows, leaving the _Itona 1_ covered in soot.

"I-I'll wipe it off later!" Standing a safe distance away, the girls watched as the chemicals smoked dangerously, colored wisps flying from shining bottles. Okuda was carefully watching for any extra explosions, a dirty rag in hand. Politely clapping, Kankazi seemed mostly relieved that Okuda wasn't using her new tool for evil. Nakamura, on the other hand, was completely disappointed that Okuda wasn't using her new tool for evil. Dully watching as the smoke drifted away from the chemicals, a devious plan began to emerge in Nakamura's mind.

Unfortunately for Okuda, detonating chemicals inside her room was not a particularly bright idea. While no permanent damage was done to the room itself, it did leave a worryingly large portion of her room covered in a black, powdery soot. "Could you help me clean up? I'll explain what happened while we do." Kanzaki and Nakamura nod, picking up extra rags from her nightstand. _How often does she do this?_ _!_

Wiping off the _Itona 1,_ Kanzaki began thinking. The _Itona 1_ was a high-tech drone designed for both assassination and perversion, according to the boys. It was an incredible piece of technology, capable of firing bullets and opening avenues of attack the traditional assassin wouldn't even be able to dream of. _Should such power really be put into the hands of middle-schoolers like us?_ Briefly, she considered throwing it out the window, so nobody could ever abuse it's power. If the upgraded version fell into the hands of people like Karma or Okajima... Kanzaki shuddered. But then again, Okuda was the person using it. If there was anybody who could use it for the good of humanity, it would probably be Okuda.

A snapping sound awakens her from her musing. Nakamura, having finished cleaning up her share of the room first, was now holding two strips of paper with an incredibly worrying look on her face. "All right, everyone. For our English lesson, we're going to be telling stories!" 

Two pairs of eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What kind of stories?"

"Oh, you know. Stories." Before either of them could protest, Nakamura's sharp voice cuts in. "In each of these papers is the story you'll be telling. You'll have to retell it in semi-passable English, or you'll have to redo it." Holding her slip of paper, Kanzaki had a horrible feeling that she was going to regret not smashing the miniature tank.

* * *

Handing them both slips of paper, Nakamura struggled to keep her face as neutral as possible. The prompts she had selected weren't too embarrassing, much to her own shock and dismay. Instead, they were all designed to reveal as much innocuous information as possible, information that she could use later on. _It's an investment_ , she told herself.

"You have 5 minutes to practice! Good luck!" Smiling to herself, Nakamura set up the voice recording app on her phone.

* * *

Kanzaki was the first one to declamate. Watching her closely was her audience, all two members casually sitting on Okuda's bed. Kanzaki's prompt was simple: _Describe your favourite arcade._ Taking a deep breath, she began speaking in English. "My favourite arcade is the Central Plaza Arcade. I like that arcade because it offers many games, and I am good at them all. I have beaten all the games there, and I can finish all the games before anybody else. One time, someone told me they were better than me and challenged me to a game. I defeated him, and he apologized."

"Great job!" Standing up, both members of the audience gave her a standing ovation. Speaking further, Nakamura put two fingers to her chin in thought. "My only comment is that you can be a bit too formal, but it honestly suits you! 9/10."

Kanzaki briefly wondered whether to accept that as a compliment or curse her father. Choosing to just take the compliment, she bowed shortly in appreciation. "Thank you, Nakamura." she replied in Japanese.

"Just don't be afraid to use contractions every now and then, OK? Okuda, your turn!" Okuda stood up, making her way to the center of the room. In her own mind, Nakamura wondered about Kanzaki's choice of arcade. _Central Plaza? That's at least an hour's train ride away from her house. Why doesn't she use an arcade closer to her house?_ Pushing aside the mystery of Kanzaki's strange choice of arcade, Nakamura recalled Okuda's prompt. _"How did you get Itona's drone?"_

Unheeding of Nakamura's schemes, Okuda spoke up next. Her tone was faltering, her voice constantly hesitating and fluctuating as she tried to speak English. "When anothel experiment exploded, I needed way test my ideas stay safety. I asked friend borrow Itona's… thing? During he came back with it, I looked if he bought it, but it was all his work. I have been using it of the week, and will retuln it next fliday." Okuda winced. She knew she had made many grammatical errors, and had even forgotten a word halfway through. Shutting her eyes tight, she prepared to take the harsh criticism.

"... So, who's your friend?"

"H-hey! You didn't say you were asking questions!" Reverting back to Japanese, Okuda crossed her arms, raising her intimidation level from teddy bear to angry puppy. 

"You're no fun." Putting on a hurt face, Nakamura wiped away an imaginary tear from her eye. "You'll need to work on… A lot of things. Let's practice your Rs and Ls first. Kanzaki, would you mind helping her?" 

Nakamura learned that trick from Bitch-Sensei. While the two were distracted practicing their sounds, Nakamura seized the opportunity to consider who could have given Okuda the _Itona 1._ Once she knew, all it would take was a bit of wheedling and the _Itona 1_ would be as good as hers. _Kanzaki seemed just as surprised as I was, so it couldn't have been her. Nagisa and Itona aren't close enough for him to just ask for it… Same goes for Takebayashi. Karma… No way he'd give up all that power that easily. Which leaves Kayano. Kayano and Itona do have the whole tentacle situation thing going on… Maybe they have a tentacle brother-sister bond? Makes more sense than anything else I've thought of..._ If she was right and it was Kayano, then the _Itona 1_ was as good as hers. An inscrutable smile on her face, she felt giddy imagining the treasure trove of blackmail she was about to discover. 

"Kanzaki… Why is she smiling?" Despite her lack of interpersonal skills, Okuda knew that Nakamura smiling never boded well for anyone. In lieu of an answer, Kanzaki pulled Okuda closer, gently holding the scientist in her arms. Whether this was to reassure her or use her as a meatshield, Okuda was unsure. _Probably meatshield, though._

"Relax, you two. I'm not planning anything for you two… Yet." Letting the silence fall for a moment, Nakamura watched as Kanzaki carefully unleashed her grip. "Besides, don't you have anything planned for Japanese?" Nakamura deflected the topic as if it was a knife strike aimed at her.

An embarrassed smile on her face, Kanzaki gave them the tiniest of shrugs. "I didn't really have anything planned… I did bring a few audiobooks of classic literature we could listen to…"

"H-huh? Don't you have any better ideas?"

"My apologies… I really couldn't think of anything else." Kanzaki closed her eyes, sighing softly.

"Look at that, Okuda. You made Kanzaki sad." Crossing her arms, Nakamura shook her head at Okuda.

"E-eh? I didn't mean it like that! Sorry, Kanzaki! Let's listen to them, OK?"

"Uh… Ok." Confused at the sudden turnaround, Kanzaki simply nodded. 

"L-let me just get some speakers first. I'll be right back!" Okuda left in a hurry, stepping outside in a flash.

"Kanzaki, you should accompany her. Make sure your audiobooks are compatible." With an innocent push, she shoved Kanzaki out the room and shut the door. Being the last person in the room, Nakamura pressed her ear against the door, carefully listening for the two. As soon as she heard the footsteps leaving the hall, she pulled out her phone to reveal her contacts sheet. A certain person's number had already been inputted. 

* * *

Extra Scene:

Orange light spills out from the windows, pouring into the old classroom. Outside, the sunset falls through the treeline, coloring everything in a warm glow. Everyone had already left for home, leaving only two people inside the classroom. Light reflecting off a test tube in his hand, Karma pockets the formula as if it was just a pen he'd found. "Heh. Thanks, Okuda. I'll be sure to put this to good use."

"No problem!"

A small crease lines Karma's forehead. "You know… We can't really call it a partnership if I'm the only one getting anything. Got anything I can do for you?"

Okuda frowns in thought, eyes pointed towards the ceiling. "Actually… Could you borrow Itona's drone for me?"

Karma's eyebrow rises, the briefest moment of shock passing through his face. "Oh? And what are you going to do with it?" His voice drops, a teasing smile on his face. "Could it be? Could Okuda have a perverted side nobody knew about? Should I worry about what's in your phone's gallery?"

Okuda rolls her eyes, a small giggle escaping her lips. She's used to these kinds of jokes from him. "You know I'm not that kind of girl, Karma." Shaking an arm over her desk, drops of soot fall off her sleeves, settling on the wood like black snow. "It's been the third time an experiment's exploded. If I could copy his drone's technology and make a few adjustments…"

Karma's voice returns to normal, a spark in his eyes. "Say no more. I'll get it for you by weekend's time." Wiping off Okuda's desk for her, he motions to leave. "Shall we go?"

Okuda smiles, relief on her face. "Sure. Thanks, Karma!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you were wondering what exactly Okuda was trying to say, it was: "When another one of my experiments exploded, I needed a way to test my ideas while staying safe. I asked one of my friends to borrow Itona's drone. When he came back with it, I looked to see if Itona had bought it, but it was all his customized work. I have been using it for the week, and will return it next friday." I had to look up some common Japanese errors when speaking english.
> 
> So, that was a... difficult chapter to write. Compared to most of my previous works, this was probably the chapter that went through the most revising and editing. I'm still not completely satisfied with it, but I think it's passable now. Kanzaki's just one of the characters I have trouble writing about... (Do I tag Karmanami if the only mention of it's in a bonus scene? Probably not.) As per usual, feel free to tell me anything/give suggestions! 
> 
> Next up: We're off on a field trip, and absolutely nothing goes wrong!


	5. Hayami, Kurahashi, Okano, and Yada

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick note: There is 1 instance of swearing, and it's in the narration. I'm not sure that qualifies for a T rating, so I didn't change it.

"Are we lost?" Picking her steps carefully, Yada tiptoed through the vegetation. Behind her, Hayami slipped through the path with catlike ease. The same could not be said for Okano, who was brutally kicking anything that dared cling to her legs. Out of the corner of her eyes, Yada saw a mutilated vine fly past her.

"Of course not!" Fearless leader Kurahashi blazed a trail in front of them, heroically surveying the land from the top of a cliff. "The campsite should be right… Here!" Proudly brushing away foliage, the intrepid explorer revealed the wild beauty of a forest not seen by mortal eyes in over a hundred years. "Uh… On second thought, it looks like we're going on an extended adventure!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" An exhausted Okano clambered over to Kurahashi, desperately scanning the horizon for any sign of civilization.

"It means we're lost." Hayami crossed her arms, staring up into the green canopy. 

"WHAT?!"

* * *

_Earlier that day…_

"I can't believe we came out all this way to look at bugs…" Stretching her arms, Okano stepped off the bus. It had been a lengthy three hour ride from her home to this middle-of-nowhere campground, and she was very eager to finally stretch her legs when it ended. Behind her, Yada and Hayami took in the sight. The campground was nothing more than a small clearing in the middle of a dense forest. Due to the fact that it still wasn't summer vacation, there weren't even any tents on the campground. In short, it was essentially a field with a fence and a sign.

"Over here!" A voice echoed, clear on the other side of the field. Waving one arm high above her head, Kurahashi beckoned them all over. The group made its way over to her. "Are you all ready for our nature trip?"

"After waiting on that bus for ages, I sure am!" Doing a few extra stretches, Okano hopped in place to warm herself up. Flanking her, Yada and Hayami watched in mild amusement. 

"Actually, I'm not too sure… I don't feel like we're properly equipped for this." Yada stared down at her clothes, more suited to a day at the mall than a hike through the dense jungle. Compared to them all, Kurahashi was apparently prepared for a decade-long trip to the Amazon. Multiple canteens hung off her belt like gun holsters, not to mention the absurdly large backpack she was carrying.

"Don't worry! The trip's just a simple 4 hour hike! We'll be done and home before you know it!" Kurahashi's face lit up, oblivious to the worried faces of everyone else. _4 hours? Is she serious?_

"Where's the guide?" Hayami glanced around the field, looking for anybody. So far, it seemed to just be them three and the vast expanse of nature.

"That's me!" Jabbing a thumb at herself, Kurahashi struck a heroic pose. Strangely, Yada was reminded of the greatest explorers of all time: Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, and Dora the Explorer. Hayami didn't seem impressed in the slightest, though.

"Uh-huh. And what happens if we get lost?" Unlike the Kunugigaoka 3-E school, these woods were dense and thick. While sunlight was peeking through the boughs now, Hayami had no doubt that the darkness falling would prevent even her above average vision from working fully. 

"Don't worry! I've scouted out our entire route beforehand, so we're not likely to get lost." Hayami still had her doubts, but Kurahashi's cheerful demeanor set some of her worries at ease. Was it possible to be at such ease if she hadn't planned out every single step? _Probably…_

"Well then, let's go!" Despite being annoyed at the prospect of travelling 3 hours for a little romp in the woods, Okano was beginning to get excited. Kurahashi's cheer was infectious, giving everyone a sense of optimism about the trip. Stowing away all their worries, the group headed into the forest.

* * *

"Wow…" Gazing upwards into the emerald canopy, Okano watched as rays of gold pierced through the leaves. All around them, a complex network of life and death encircled them, a system created since time immemorial. Eyes barely comprehending the majestic grandeur of nature, Okano placed a hand on one of the giants, a crown of leaves adorning it's upright body. "I've never seen trees this large before…"

"Chamaecyparis obtusa, or Japanese Cypress. It's one of the most common trees in this forest." Stopping the trek for a brief moment, Kurahashi let her tour mates admire the wooden giant. 

"Japanese Cypress? I've heard Chiba mention it once or twice. He never said anything about it growing this tall, though." Hayami gave the tree a solid knock, as if to test it's solidity. The tree stood firm, not a leaf stirring from the strike. 

"I don't think they usually grow this tall." Sitting on one of the tree's roots, Yada stared upwards into the sky of leaves. She couldn't even make out the top of the tree from where she was sitting. The unspoken question loomed above all of them: _How had the tree grown so tall?_

"Competition." Reading the silence, Kurahashi spoke up. "In a forest like this, sunlight's a valuable resource. The taller you are, the more sunlight you'll receive. The more sunlight you receive, the taller you grow. It's an unfair competition for the saplings, really." Everyone was made acutely aware of just how much of the sky was covered under the tree's boughs. 

"Reminds you of 3-A, doesn't it?" Okano grumbled, back resting against the tree. The elite grew ever stronger, while outcasts like them ended up being overshadowed and stunted by the system. It was even in the school's name. _Kunugigaoka._ Saw-tooth Oak. 

"In a way. But we've had our own private patch of sunlight, right?" Kurahashi smiled, wiggling an arm like it was a tentacle. "Nyeuhuhuhu!" She laughed in an almost perfect impersonation of Koro-sensei. 

Letting her own response fade away, Okano cracked a smile, letting a ray of light fall directly into her palm. Despite the fact that nobody in the class would ever say it to his face, all of them were eternally grateful Koro-Sensei had chosen them as his class. Okano in particular felt as if she had a debt to him, a debt she could spend her life working on and still not even come close to paying. Where would she even begin? _Well, acing Koro-Sensei's test would be a good start._

"Hey, Kurahashi! What are we dawdling about for? Don't we have bugs to study?"

"Oh, right! Come on, we've still got a forest to explore!" Pulling each other up, all of them pushed further into the forest. Vanishing into the background, the cypress behemoth waved it's branches gently, as if it were saying goodbye.

* * *

"Nyufufufu… What is this warm feeling in Sensei's heart? Could it be… _NYUAAA?!_ A THERMAL DETONATOR?!" Ripping off the bomb on his chest, Koro-Sensei flung it into the atmosphere at Mach 20 speeds, where it exploded harmlessly. 

Off in the distance, a would-be bounty hunter throws down his rifle and kicks it aside. Muttering about impossible targets, he swears to himself to find a less stressful job.

* * *

Slowly trundling along, a beetle made its way through the undergrowth. Sturdy, methodical steps carried it from tree to tree, aiding it in it's eternal quest for tree sap and rotten fruits. Unbeknownst to it, four pairs of eyes intently watched it's every move.

"The Japanese Rhinoceros beetle. Averaging 40-80 Centimeters, it's one of the more common types of insect you'll see around here. In general, they tend to live 4 months as beetles after a year as larvae. You can tell this one's male due to the size of it's horn, which it uses to fight for it's territory. Actually, this beetle's one of the larger ones I've seen in a while." Rattling off insect trivia, Kurahashi cheerily took pictures of the beetle, who seemed determined in its efforts to ignore the group.

"Aren't you going to catch it and sell it off?" Yada asked. She was familiar with her friend's _side job_ , if you could call it that.

"Well… I may or may not have gotten into trouble with the campground management a few weeks ago, after I tried smuggling a few beetles out." 

"So, what happened? You got banned?" A jesting grin on her face, Okano cocked an eyebrow in suspicion. Seeing Kurahashi's guilt-ridden face quickly wiped that grin off. "Wait, you seriously got banned?!"

"Well... Maybe, sort of, perhaps... Look, let's not worry about the small details! It's the last day anyways and I'm not smuggling any beetles now!" Kurahashi laughed nervously, as all eyes shifted from the beetle to her. Sensing the tension, the beetle swiftly abandoned Kurahashi to her doom, buzzing away on its wings.

"So we're trespassing." Hayami quickly scanned the forest for any sneaky forest rangers. A ridiculous thought, considering they had been walking for over 2 hours now with no sign of human life. 

"I guess we are… We should leave before things get any worse. Kurahashi, do you know the way back?" Exhaling, Yada couldn't help but smile. She should have expected _Fluffy Beetle_ to pull a stunt like this at some point in time.

"Of course!" Perking up instantly, Kurahashi bounced back down the path, beckoning everyone to follow.

* * *

"Are we lost?" It had been an extra two hours of picking through the vegetation, one slow step after the next. Despite Yada's careful steps and Hayami's catlike tread, the two of them were beginning to show signs of exhaustion. Okano had been the worst hit of the three. At some point, she had given up on preserving the natural habitat, and was now viciously kicking anything that dared approach her legs. 

"Of course not!" Their fearless leader Kurahashi was an endless well of energy, still marching along the path as if she had just warmed up. Reaching a cliff edge, she heroically scanned the horizon. "The campsite should be right… Here!" Brushing away the foliage, she revealed even more of the same damned forest they've been trekking through. "Uh… On second thought, it looks like we're going on an extended adventure!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Half-crawling, Okano desperately looked for anything that denoted human civilization. Unfortunately for her, any civilizations that might have existed had long since been swallowed by the forest.

"It means we're lost." Staring up into the canopy, Hayami tried to determine how far into the day they were. Based on what little light beams made it through to the floor, it was probably the afternoon. 

"WHAT?!"

"Come to think about it, the forest is pretty big. Hunting down that tiny field might be a problem…" Yada remained oddly calm about the whole situation. Taking a moment to rest, she leaned back against a tree trunk.

"I'm going to die here. I'm going to die in this endless forest." Collapsing against a rock, Okano splayed out on the forest floor. Hayami's legs followed suit, buckling into a sitting position next to Okano. Despite the melodramatic tones, Hayami couldn't bring herself to disagree with the assessment. Strange. She had always imagined herself dying through either a gunshot wound or an explosion. Starving to death because of a crazed nature lover never crossed her mind.

Eyes closed, Yada exhaled to calm herself down. She didn't want it to come to this, but neither Fate nor Kurahashi had left her any other options. Pulling her phone out of the pocket, she locked eyes with the nature explorer. Her eyes were wide in pleading, begging her not to go through with it. In response, Yada pointed at Okano's prone body, motionless on the floor. Kurahashi blinked away a single tear, withdrawing. Yada made the call.

"Karasuma-Sensei?" Yada's voice trailed off as she began to explain the situation. _Yes, sir. No, sir, none of us are injured. Thank you, sir._ Hanging up, Yada found herself pinned by 3 pairs of expectant eyes. "Karasuma-Sensei's coming in a few hours to pick us up. We'll just wait here until he arrives. Oh, and Karasuma-sensei told me to tell you, Kurahashi…" 

Kurahashi's head perked up, eyes wide in anticipation.

"You're on cleaning duties for the next 2 weeks."

Kurahashi sulked on her tree root, huffing indignantly. Silence passes through the group.

"So, who wants to review ecology?" 

* * *

"... which means that both the population of prey and predator will constantly fluctuate with each other." Okano summarized the lesson, to the applause of the others. 

Holding a flashcard, Hayami nodded in approval. "Correct. You can get up any time you like, you know."

"It's surprisingly comfortable down here." Okano made no effort to get off the grass. Off in the distance, the fading light turned orange as the sun dipped down over the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, and would have been even more beautiful if it wasn't threatening to abandon them all to the clutches of nighttime. Faintly, Okano heard what sounded like… _Whirring?_ "Hey, guys… Do you hear th-"

A massive gust of wind blasted them all in the face, pushing Okano further down into the grass. The Whirring was a deafening roar now, thundering high above them. Shielding their eyes from the dust, everyone looked to the skies. A military helicopter flew high above them, hovering in place. Rungs swinging in the air, a rope ladder was dropped in front of them. Without waiting for a confirmation, everyone climbed up, glad to finally escape the forest.

A young woman watched as the students pathetically clambered aboard. In contrast to their muddied and torn clothes, she was clad in only the finest fashions, a smoking cigarette wedged between her delicate fingers. Momentarily confused, all of the girls needed a few moments to take in the sight. Yada was the first one to speak up. "Bitch-Sensei? I thought I called Karasuma-Sensei a few hours ago?"

A smug smile playing on her lips, Irina took a puff on the cigarette. "Karasuma was going to call the forest rangers and have them look for you. Of course, I couldn't have my favourite proteges die off in some back-alley woods, now, could I? Speaking of which… None of you are dead, hm?"

"We thought Okano did, but she's fine!" Kurahashi piped up, a relieved smile on her face. Okano gave Irina a thumbs-up.

"Good. I'm doubling your homework."

"WHAT? WHY?!" All of them chorused.

"As punishment for wasting the only 2 days I get away from you brats." Taking another smoke, Irina tapped her finger on her cheek. "Plus, it's no fun if only the octopus gets to do it. I'm expecting a 50-page report on Tolstoy's Anna Karenina by Monday Morning."

The rest of the trip back was filled with nothing but screams and complaints.

* * *

Bonus:

Irina Jelavic sat in the helicopter with a mollified look on her face. Her phone was pressed against her ear, her eyes darting to and fro as she tried to come up with a viable excuse. 

"Oh, Karasuma! What are you calling about?" Irina's voice turned high-pitched as she tried to placate the angry voice echoing through the phone.

"No, It's not that big a deal. I'm just picking up our girls, we wouldn't want anything bad happening to them out there! Of course I mean our students, what other girls do we have?"

"Yes, I'll have the helicopter and it's pilot back before 10. Look, if your superiors are that mad, just tell them the roguishly charming Irina Jelavic commandeered it and you had nothing to do with it!"

"Fine, I'll do the paperwork for you, OK? Just don't be mad, please?" Lowering her voice into a pleading whine, Irina begged for her partner's patience. _BEEP. BEEP. BEEEEEP_. Whoever was speaking on the other side had hung up in frustration.

Irina sighed to herself as she dropped the phone back into her purse. Sitting beside her, Kurahashi gently pat her on the shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: The Saw-tooth Oak is actually an invasive species, destroying native species as they spread rapidly. Oddly fitting, given Kunugigaoka's style of trampling over the weak.
> 
> That being said, I really liked writing this chapter! Hayami and Okano interacting with people not named Chiba and Maehara is a rarity in itself, and I've only seen a few fanfics where Yada and Kurahashi are prominently shown off. I'm not 100% sure I portrayed Okano and Yada perfectly, but I'm satisfied with the way it turned out. (As a side note, I'm not sure how I'm supposed to tag these stories. Most authors I see go for a inclusive tagging system, where they tag everything in the story. I try only to tag the important parts of a story, which is why there isn't a tag about Koro-Sensei or Karasuma yet, despite them appearing for a few jokes. Am I doing it right?)
> 
> Next up: 5 guys in a cafe!


	6. Isogai, Okajima, Maehara, Mimura, and Sugaya

"And what will your order be, ma'am?" The perfect image of sophistication, Yuma Isogai quickly scribbled down his customer's order. Despite the fact that it was a weekend and that he needed to review, Isogai's endless list of responsibilities forced him to spend weekends doing whatever part time jobs he could find. Thankfully, the manager for this cafe was a kind soul, allowing him to work for only half the day instead of the full shift.

Glancing across the street, Isogai saw his classmates. They had chosen to spend the first half of the day reviewing in the cafe across the street, so Isogai wouldn't have to run very far to join once he had finished. Looking at them, they seemed to be locked in an intense discussion with each other. Whatever subject it was, Isogai was confident that it would help them all in Koro-Sensei's test.

* * *

"I've always wanted to have a nice, long talk with Kayano, you know? Just sit down and chat." Mimura sighed, a far-off look in his eye. The four boys were sitting down in a cosy little table, notebooks and diagrams apparently only being used as decorations. Ever since their arrival, they had done absolutely nothing in terms of studying, choosing instead to talk about whatever topics they found interesting at the moment. As of the moment, it was Mimura's strange interest in Haruna Mase.

"Never gonna happen. You know she's only got eyes for Nagisa." Maehara sipped his cola. While his instincts were mostly sure of that, he was extremely careful not to make any assumptions about Kayano. For all he knew, it was just another act.

"What, no! Not like that! I just want to know about her experiences in acting. Since I'm going to be a film-maker, learning from an experienced actress like her is going to help me along my career."

"Why don't you just ask her, then? Kayano's one of the friendliest people in class." Sugaya was sketching out random geometric figures on a spare tissue, only half listening to Mimura's chattering.

"It's awkward. I know she's really on our side, but I don't know how much she wants to talk about her past life. Maybe she's touchy about it? What do you think?"

Maehara gave a noncommittal shrug. "Don't ask me. If you really want Kayano advice, go talk to Okuda or Kanzaki. I may be a ladies' man, but I really can't get a read on her." Sugaya and Okajima nodded in agreement. While the class as a whole had  _ "forgiven"  _ Kayano after her rampage, none of them really knew what to make of her. Maehara in particular kept his distance. 

Suddenly, the tinkling of a small bell echoed across the room. Pushing open the glass door, a fairy-tale prince entered the cafe. Charming golden eyes, swaying antenna-like hair, and even a waiter's suit all gave off the impression that a noble prince had just entered the room. Even the beads of sweat he had accumulated on his forehead sparkled in the light, causing him to shine in front of them all. Taking the last seat, Isogai smoothly slid into the group. "Sorry for being so late. My shift's done for the morning, so I'm free to review now. What did you guys study while I was out?"

All four of them exchanged nervous glances. "Uh…"

* * *

"Seriously? Nothing?" All four boys looked sheepishly at Isogai, a wry grin on his face. "What were you guys talking about while I was away?"

Mimura felt four pairs of eyes stare him down. Tugging on his shirt's collar, he chuckled nervously. "Erm… Just random things." 

"Well, there's no use dwelling on the past. Let's just spend the rest of the day studying what we can!" Smiling encouragingly, Isogai settled down into his seat. His neatly organised notes were already stacked in front of him, ready for whatever subject they were about to undertake.

"He really is an  _ ikemen… _ " Okajima grumbled in frustrated jealousy. 

Maehara nodded once, ready to finally undertake the day's review. Shuffling through his notebook, Maehara quickly checked who was teaching what. Both he and Mimura didn't have any subject specialties, so they were going to be listening the entire time. Isogai was the best in Social Studies, so he'd be teaching that. Sugaya was going to do geometry, and Okajima was going to be teaching…  _ Wait, what? _

Staring at his own notebook in confusion, Mimura shot a glance at Okajima. "Okajima, it says you're teaching Female Anatomy. Care to explain?"

Okajima puffed up his chest, a proud look on his face. "Well, I'm the most qualified to talk about that in our entire class, so I thought I'd teach you all some of the basics."  _ He really shouldn't look as proud as he does…  _

"No offense, Okajima, but nobody wants to hear you talk about Female Anatomy for 30 minutes." Sugaya continued doodling on his tissues. 

"Seconded." Mimura's face scrunched up in disgust.

"Thirded." Isogai winced at the thought.

"Fourthed." Maehara shook his head sadly.

"Et tu, brutes?" Reeling at the betrayal, Okajima clutched on to his table like the world had turned upside down. They were all men! Shouldn't they all have the same bond that tied them all together in brotherhood: pervertedness?

"Look, Okajima. You've got to work on losing the perviness. It's a major turn-off." Maehara had been telling him that for several months now, to no avail. True to form, Okajima responded by crossing his arms and looking away in frustration. "He'll be sulking for a few minutes. Let's just start without him."

* * *

"In conclusion, poverty is caused by a myriad of factors, including a lack of adequate nutrition, the inability to access proper education, and constant exploitation by higher authority figures. All of these hinder a person's ability to find employment, causing them to fall further into poverty and creating a downward spiral into bankruptcy and destitution from which there is no escape but death. Any questions?" Isogai's face shone cheerfully, as if he had just recounted a nice walk he took yesterday.

Maehara's face displayed a strange mix of pity and horror. The lesson began simply enough, with a description of poverty and its causes. Midway through it, however, Isogai had begun sprinkling in very detailed stories about the terrible effects of poverty. The tragedy of the gambling addict who had wasted away and died of starvation was permanently seared into his mind.

In front of him was a half-eaten slice of honey cake. He would have finished it, but he had lost his appetite about the time Isogai told them about how the body couldn't fight off ravaging illnesses if not properly fed, citing his own mother as an example. Or perhaps it was the time one of Isogai's childhood friends was sent to the hospital for food poisoning after he had tried to forage for himself. After a while, all the horrific memories just started to blend into each other. All around him, the rest of the boys shared similar looks of empathetic revulsion. Looking closely, Maehara noticed Isogai's lean frame.  _ Has he always been this thin? _

Maehara pushed his plate towards Isogai. "You can have the cake." Seeing Maehara's offer, the rest of them offered their snacks as well. Isogai hadn't ordered anything, only taking the free cup of water. 

"Are you sure? I'm not that hungry, really." This was a lie. Isogai would have normally tucked in immediately, but seeing the guilty faces of his classmates made him pause. 

"Just eat the food already,  _ Ikeman. _ " Even Okajima's conscience had spoken up, forcing him to offer up his frosted buns for the greater good. 

Isogai was both extremely touched by their selfless gesture and extremely hungry. Before any of them could blink, one of Sugaya's garlic bread-sticks had disappeared right before their very eyes. Food vanishing at an alarming rate, Isogai quickly tore through all the pastries. Looking on in despair, Okajima noted how not a single crumb of food ever got on Isogai's mouth, his shirt, or the floor.  _ Even when chowing down like there's no tomorrow, he's still an Ikeman…  _ Isogai's antenna hair bobbed happily as he finished off the last of the honey cake. Wiping off his mouth with a clean tissue, his face lit up happily. "Thanks, everyone! Should we start reviewing the next part of the lesson?"

"NO!" Mimura shouted. The entire cafe stared at him in confusion, including Isogai. "I mean… No, we can't because… Er… Sugaya has a lot to talk about!"

Sugaya caught on quickly. "Oh, yes. I've got plenty of geometry lessons. Like… Calculating areas. And… Finding the perimeter of a circle. Yeah."

Isogai looked at them in confusion. "Didn't we study that last year?"

Maehara interrupted, nervous sweat beginning to show on his face. "Well… Reviewing the basics is always good!" Okajima, Mimura, and Sugaya nodded in perfect sync, pretending that last year's math lessons were the most interesting thing in the world.

Thoroughly confused now, Isogai nodded slowly. "Ok, let's do the geometry lessons, then."

* * *

Sugaya managed to draw out his math lesson over 3 hours. About 10 minutes of that was spent reviewing the actual lessons, and the remaining 2 hours 50 minutes was spent talking about artworks that tangentially related to geometry. Realistically, the review should have only taken 15 minutes, but Sugaya made absolutely sure to go off every single tangent possible. The highlight of the session was when he had gone on a thirty minute tangent about how the Fibonacci spiral had perfectly captured the essence of the Mona Lisa, despite the fact that none of them even knew what a Fibonacci even was. One of them would have probably complained at some point, but anything was better than hearing about the never-ending cycle of poverty again. 

Unfortunately, all good times had to end, and Sugaya's well of distracting stories eventually ran dry. Yawning, Maehara checked the time.  _ 4:00. That's close enough to dismissal, right?  _ "Well, I guess we're done! It's been a great review, see you all Monday!" Getting up from his seat, Maehara motioned to leave. He fervently hoped that Isogai would take the hint and go.

"Hold on… There's still a little bit of time left. Let's run through our lessons one last time!" Isogai opened his social studies notebook, filling everyone else with a sense of dread. 

"So… Who's got a review ready?" Quickly diverting Isogai's attention, Maehara considered his options. They weren't great. Sugaya had already gone 3 hours speaking about art. Isogai had to be avoided at all costs. Okajima… No. Which either left him or Mimura. He quickly elbowed Mimura in the ribs.

"Ow… What was that for?"

"Don't you have a very important, very well thought out lesson ready?" 

"No… I mean yes! Of course I do! It's about… Molecular bonding!" Mimura used the first topic that came to mind. Hadn't Koro-Sensei mentioned something of the sort a few days ago? He wasn't sure. Four pairs of ears listened expectantly, as if he was a famous scientist about to give a declamation about his new discoveries. Mimura inhaled dramatically, lifting a finger in intelligent thought. He opened his mouth. No words came out.

An awkward silence passes.

"You don't actually know anything about that, do you?"

"No." Mimura admitted.

"Dang it." The five of them awkwardly sat around the table, trying to come up with something to say. 

Sensing the mood, Isogai spoke up. "Well, if nobody has anything to say..." Hearing those words caused the atmosphere to dampen considerably. Everybody tensed themselves up, preparing for another depressing lecture on poverty. "Let's just go home and self-study. We'll just talk through LINE if we have any questions." 

"A-all right?" Stunned at their sudden salvation, all of them simply blinked in confusion. Maehara was the first to recover. "Wait, what about the poverty lesson?"

Isogai gave an apologetic smile. "It's too late now… I've got a 5-7 shift tonight at the cafe I work in. I'll just send you the summary once I'm done." With that, the waiter left the building to resume his work, leaving four very confused but relieved students in his wake.

* * *

Bonus Scene:

Yuma Isogai slacked into his chair, letting out an exhausted sigh. It was currently 8:40 PM, and he had just gotten home. It had been a long day of waiting at tables and he was exhausted. The review had gone well, but he had a strange feeling that his classmates weren't comfortable with learning about his neighbour's struggles. Flipping open his notes, Isogai did his best to ignore the small rumbles in his stomach. Dinner today had been nothing but two microwave meals, split between the four members of his family. While they were cheap, they weren't exactly the most filling meals. A small pang of guilt shoots through Isogai. He should have brought home some of the snacks his friends offered him so his brother and sister could eat something new.

_ Knock knock. _ Someone was knocking on the door. Not bothering to wonder who, Isogai bounded over to the living room, taking care not to disturb his sleeping mother. He gently opened the door. There, standing in the doorway, was a delivery man. In one hand, he held a box full of take-out food. The aroma tickled Isogai's nose, making his stomach grumble. "I have a delivery for… Yuma Isogai?"

"Yes, that's me. But I didn't order anything?"

"Some friends of yours paid for it. Even left a note in the box." Pushing the box of food into Isogai's hands, the delivery man sped off in his motorcycle.

Curious, Isogai walked over to the dinner table, setting the box down. Carefully opening it, all of Isogai's senses were assaulted by the aroma of the dishes. The fresh smell of food nearly caused him to double over. Peeking inside, his eyes widened as if he had just discovered buried treasure. Steamed rice, dumplings, and fried chicken were all contained in four separate plastic bowls. For any other family, this was an average meal. For his family, however, this was nothing short of a grand feast. 

_ Who sent this?  _ Curiosity overtaking his hunger, Isogai picked up the note at the bottom of the box.

_ Goldfishes aren't healthy. Don't get malnourished! _

_ -Maehara, Mimura, Sugaya, and Okajima _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not saying Isogai would willingly guilt trip you for free food. I'm just saying that he could tell a lot of stories, and maybe your generosity might be touched by one of said stories. 
> 
> The main struggle I've had with this group is that Okajima and Maehara's personalities are centred around the opposite sex, and I'm not too comfortable writing those kinds of jokes. Mimura's film making and Sugaya's artwork don't easily lend themselves to a story based around studying as well. I did my best, but I don't feel like anyone except Isogai really got a chance to shine this chapter... (That's also the reason why this chapter is relatively short. My sincerest apologies to all the Maehara, Okajima, Mimura, and Sugaya fans out there.)
> 
> Next up: Books vs Movies! Which entertainment medium will reign supreme?


	7. Hara, Hazama, and Kayano

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Romeo and Juliet spoilers? Not too important, but if you somehow still don't know how it ends...

Wiping the sweat off her brow, Sumire Hara put the finishing touches on her last batch of pastries. Spread out all throughout the dinner table was a cornucopia of confectioneries. Cookies, cupcakes, Jelly Rolls, and other deserts were neatly arranged throughout their table, all carefully baked by her and her mother. Even several cups of pudding were safely locked away in her freezer, chilled to perfection overnight.

Taking a cookie off her pile, Hara bit into it as a taste test. _Hmm…_ The cookie was a bit too sweet. Mentally chiding herself, Hara made a note to use less sugar on her next attempt. She hoped her guests didn't mind too much. Hazama preferred either bland or bitter foods, and Kayano… Hara wasn't sure what Kayano liked anymore. Did she still like pudding and sweets, or was that just a part of her act?

Hara shrugged to herself. If they didn't like it, Koro-Sensei would probably appreciate the extra sweets. Or maybe Yoshida. He could probably use a break from salty Ramen.

"Sumire, dear! Your friend's here!" Hara's mother called out from the living room downstairs. Taking a plate of cookies from the table, Hara headed downstairs.

* * *

"Sumire's told me so much about you, dear. You simply have to tell us your pudding recipe!" A jovial smile on her face, Hara's mother escorted Kaede Kayano to the living room. A portly woman with curly hair, Hara's mother was the embodiment of motherhood. Both Hara and her mother had a warm ambiance that Kayano couldn't explain, putting her at ease around them. In some ways, it was the opposite of both her and Nagisa's bloodlust auras, calming people instead of causing fear.

The two of them held a brief but pleasant conversation within their living room, waiting for Hara to arrive. Soon enough, she emerged from her kitchen, a warm plate of cookies held in her hands. "I'll leave you two now. Sumire, take good care of your guest! I'll call again once your other friend arrives." With that, Ms. Hara left the two to their own devices.

"Your mother is really nice." Taking a warm cookie from the tray, Kayano bit into it with gusto. She shivered in delight once the taste touched her tongue. Hara's cookies were always amazing, no matter what. 

"Yeah… She can be a bit smothering, but she's always been nice. Yoshida says I'm a miniature version of her." 

"Yeah, no kidding!" More cookies fell to the overpowering might of Kayano's sweet tooth. Gleefully crunching on their rough textures, Kayano's face brightened in joyful bliss. "Mmm! These are so good…"

A relieved smile on her face, Hara watched as Kayano made short work of the cookie platter. At least some things didn't change about her. Catching Hara's introspective stare, Kayano stopped her feasting for a few moments. "Huh? What's wrong, Hara?"

Now was a good time as any to breach the subject, Hara supposed. "I've been wondering… Do I call you Kayano or Yukimura?" Simple questions first.

Normally, Kayano's guard would have been immediately raised at such a straightforward question. However, the sweetness of the cookies, the cosiness of the living room, and Hara's own calming radiance eased her fears. Tilting her head, she put one finger on her temple. "I've gone the whole year as Kayano, so I guess I'll keep going." Kayano preferred the name Kayano anyways. Even if only a little bit, it helped distract herself from the Yukimura name.

"And are we allowed to watch your old movies?"

Kayano shook her head, sending cookie crumbs all over the sofa. "No, definitely not."

"Aw… Why not?"

"It's like showing off your baby pictures! So embarrassing." The last thing Kayano needed in her life was for Karma or Rio to get their hands on any of her older movies. Especially not the Magical Girl movies: Those were an especially old shame that she’d tried repressing for years. Fishing through the plate, Kayano blissfully chewed on another cookie. But then again, if they bribed her with enough sweets…

* * *

Hazama arrived half an hour later. During the time, both Hara and Kayano had burned through two whole plates of cookies and were steadily working on their next plate. Face morphed into a cute pout, Kayano was ranting about whatever was on her mind. "It's just not fair! Why do all the pretty people get unique hair colors, and I'm just stuck with boring old black? What I wouldn't give for a cool hair color…"

Confused, Hara pointed at Kayano's hair. "But your hair's green?"

Pulling back her hair, Kayano revealed her hairline. Beneath the field of green, black strands were beginning to push their way up. "It's dyed… I really want green hair, though."

"Black suits you better." A deathly chill caused Kayano to freeze. A pale white hand lay on her shoulder, fingernails blood-red. In a heartbeat, all traces of the warm atmosphere had been replaced by a foggy, chilling fear. The darkness of Class 3-E, Kirara Hazama, had arrived. 

Kayano's response was succinct and to the point. "AAAHHHHHHHH!" Leaping into the air like a terrified rabbit, she sailed across the room before crashing into an undignified heap on the floor. "Hazama! You scared me!" 

"It's what I do." Unrepentant, Hazama dropped her bag on the floor. It slammed into the wooden planks with a dull thud, briefly shaking the living room. “I’ve brought all the classics. We’re going through all of these today.”

A sweatdrop on her face, Kayano stared at the massive bulk of the backpack. By her estimation, there was at least an entire library’s worth of books stuffed within there. “Are we really going through all that?” Before Hazama could reply, a ringtone rang out. Picking herself off the ground, Kayano quickly took her phone out of her pocket. Seeing the caller ID caused her to wince in shock. "Ah, shoot. Sorry guys, I need to take this! Just start without me!" With that, Kayano quickly sped out of the room, leaving Hara and Hazama alone. Shrugging nonchalantly, Hazama began pulling several books out of her bag. 

Frowning, Hara surveyed the literature collection. "Hazama… Don't you think a few of these are inappropriate for Kayano?"

"No? She's definitely old enough for these books."

Hara tapped her finger on the first book in the collection. _The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde._ "A story about how a nice man was secretly hiding a monstrous side to fool his friends…" Before an argument could be formed, Hara was already on to the next book. _Moby Dick._ "How a man wasted his life in pursuit of petty revenge… " _Frankenstein._ "How a scientist goes too far and refuses to take responsibility for his mistakes… Kayano might take some of these too personally. Is it alright if we drop them for now?”

"Wow. You actually know the plots of these books?" Hazama stared at Hara, a newfound respect in her eyes. Had the third member of 3-E's unofficial literature club been right under her nose the entire time?

"Mom and I used to watch these old films every Saturday. I guess some of the old plots stuck around in my head." 

_Never mind,_ Hazama thought in disappointment. No movie fan would ever breach the confines of literature club. 

Picking up _Romeo and Juliet_ , Hara held it up in approval. "Let's just read this! It's a classic love story, so I'm sure Kayano would like it."

"... You don't know anything about this story, do you." Hazama's grin widened in anticipation. Seeing Hara shake her head caused her aura to darken even further. "Trust me, both of you are going to love this." Smirking evilly, she watched as Kayano re-entered the room.

* * *

" _For never was a story of more woe; Than this of Juliet and her Romeo."_ Folding the script neatly in two, Hazama smiled as sweetly as she could manage. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet had always been one of her favourite plays. Partially because of the depressing ending, partially because of the morbid way both of them died, but mostly because she could relate to having unreasonably overbearing parents. One of the perks of knowing the script was having the ability to bring the cursed knowledge to the minds of others. Romeo and Juliet, the quintessential lovers who were fated to be together, dying in despair and alone… Hazama relished the melancholy it brung.

_Speaking of melancholy…_ Hazama looked over at her audience's reactions. Hara's reaction was expected. Muffled snuffling, watery eyes, and a downcast look. All of that was expected when treated to the Hazama Audiobook experience. Kayano, on the other hand… Kayano's expression was strangely dull. Her eyes were unfocused, as if she had just woken up from a very long nap. "Kayano, your thoughts?" She didn't show it, but Hazama was very interested in Kayano's reaction. She had expected her to join in the crying as well.

"I’m sorry, it just… wasn’t that interesting as a book. I’m sure it’s much better as a movie, though!" Kayano mentioned the movie only to placate Hazama. After all, if the story was good, did it matter how the story was presented?

Hazama certainly seemed to think so, judging by how her aura of darkness was intensifying. "Hmph. That’s a nice way to say you hated it.”

"No, it’s not like that! It’s just that.. It would have been better if I could have seen it? " Kayano was now in a full on stare-down with Hazama. Her stare unwavering, Kayano's hand searched the platter for more cookies. No luck. Her cookie storage had gone completely dry. 

"I'll go get some more. Hazama, do you want some as well?" Hazama, fully intent on her newfound rival, nodded briefly. An oblivious Hara took the empty plates away, heading back to the kitchen for refills.

* * *

Hara took her time getting back. Aside from grabbing yet another plate of cookies, she had also taken the time to pick out specific treats for both her guests. _Chilled pudding and hot chocolate for Kayano, and oatmeal cookies and bitterleaf tea for Hazama. That should do it!_ Carefully balancing the tray in her hands, Hara made her way downstairs again. If she listened closely, she could hear the sounds of arguing emanating from the living room. A peaceful smile on her face, she re-entered the room.

“Well, I’m sorry that I have more senses than just my eyes!” Kayano shrieked, her face red.

“Well, I’m sorry my imagination can handle more than two concepts at a time.” Hazama didn’t deign Kayano worth looking at, instead choosing to flip through her book in a calculated display of disrespect.

"What's going on here?" Setting the tray down, Hara watched as Kayano and Hazama bitterly quarreled with each other.

"I don't know what's gotten into her! I just say I want to see a Romeo and Juliet movie, and she suddenly gets angry!"

"It's not my fault a classmate of mine could be so… Tasteless. I thought sugar was supposed to rot your teeth, not your brain."

"That's enough, both of you!" Sternly glaring at the two bickering children, Hara crossed her arms. Both quarrellers stopped, guiltily glancing at their pseudo-mom. "Let's all just apologise to each other, OK?"

Hazama spoke up first. "Sorry for calling you tasteless." The apology was half-meant and faker than plastic, but it was an apology nonetheless.

"And I'm sorry for insulting your books." Kayano's apology would have seemed genuine, if not for the forced smile and the twitching eye. Both parties glared daggers into each other, clearly still viciously mad.

"That's great, everyone! Now, why don't we take our snacks and finish the lessons?" The tension in the room was making it harder to breathe. Picking up her pudding cup from the tray, Kayano began considering flinging it straight into Hazama's smug face. Unconsciously, her arm began winding back for a throw. Before she could enact gooey justice, however, a firm grip on her hand stopped her mid-wind up. Hara was holding her back, a worried look on her face. _If Kayano's willing to waste a full cup of pudding… I'd better do something._ "On second thought, let's just go straight into the kitchen! I'll show you both how to bake cookies!"

Never breaking eye contact with each other, both Kayano and Hazama muttered in agreement.

* * *

The baking was… Chaotic, to say the least. It was all going well for the first thirty seconds of the lesson, until Kayano "accidentally" sneezed some flour straight into Hazama's face. Hazama then retaliated by "accidentally" spilling salt into Kayano's cookie dough, forcing her to redo the entire recipe. From there, their retaliations gradually got more and more intense, eventually culminating in Kayano abandoning all subtlety and flinging a wad of uncooked cookie dough at Hazama. Muttering curses and incantations under her breath, Hazama tried her best to wipe the dough off her hair.

Finally, the oven timer rang out like the bell after a hard-fought boxing match. Breathing a sigh of relief, Hara leaned back on the kitchen wall. It was a long, arduous journey filled with many struggles, but at least they had finished the cookies eventuall- _Oh. Oh dear._

Hazama's oven was overheating, black smoke pouring out of every crevice. Quickly opening the oven, Hazama narrowly dodged as a black blast of smoke vomited out of the machine. Whatever cookies were inside were now certainly burnt into a black crisp.

"What's wrong? I thought you liked black?" A self-satisfied smirk on her face, Kayano watched as Hazama pulled out little charred crisps that could barely be considered food, let alone cookies. Revelling in her vengeance, Kayano smugly bit into one of her own cookies. Almost immediately, she sputtered out cookie bits, a disgusted look on her face. Confused, Hara taste-tested another cookie from the pile. The cookie was bitter, almost unbearably so. Resisting the urge to gag, she swallowed the bite. 

"What's wrong? I'm just trying to improve your tastes. Who knows, it might help you live longer." Hazama's expression didn't change, but Kayano could sense the mockery in her tone. Picking up another clump of flour, Kayano was about let fly when…

"Kaede Kayano. Kirara Hazama." A hard voice rang out, resolute and bitter in tone. Hara's welcoming aura was gone, replaced by a cold, stern fury. Both of the girls quailed under her piercing gaze. Hands on her hips, she began lecturing the two miscreants. "I don't understand why you two are fighting, and normally I wouldn't mind. But nobody wastes food while I'm around. Both of you are going to clean up this mess right now, then you two will talk out your differences. Understood?"

There was a new edge to her voice, one neither of them have even dreamt of hearing. Intimidated, both Kayano and Hazama began cleaning at once.

* * *

"So… Do you want to tell me why you freaked out like that?" Mopping up the floor vigorously, Kayano relentlessly struggled against a particularly resilient spot on the floor.

"Don't pretend it was all me." Hazama huffed, wiping away some spilled baking soda.

"Fine, It’s partly my fault. I ruined a perfectly good batch of cookies, and I'm sorry for that."

"And getting cookie dough in my hair?"

"And getting cookie dough in your hair."

"Fine. I accept your apology." Hazama takes a deep breath. "For years now, literature has been maltreated and exploited by movie directors, creating soulless adaptations of famous pieces and butchering their text for general audiences. Too many good works have been destroyed by the movie-making industry. I’ve always hated it.”

"And you're saying I reminded you of that when I wanted to see a movie?"

"Somewhat. Part of it was also the fact that you were an actress. The embodiment of all I despise." Kayano took an uncomfortable step backwards. "Of course, I was being unreasonable. You're never appeared in any adaptations before, right?"

Kayano thought back to all her previous film appearances. "No, I don't think I have."

"I thought so. I'm sorry for that, as well as insulting you multiple times. I hope you can forgive me for that." Nothing changed about Hazama’s tone, but Kayano could still somehow sense that she was genuine this time.

"We'll call it even… If you promise to watch a movie with me soon!”

“Don’t push your luck.” Hazama’s tone had the tiniest bit of levity embedded within it, but it was enough for Kayano. A happy grin on her face, she returned to her mopping. Said grin quickly faded as Kayano realised just how trashed the kitchen was.

"We're going to be here all day, aren't we?"

"Yep."  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like writing Kayano. Can you tell?
> 
> I've always had a headcanon that Hazama was a literature snob. She seems like the type of person to get annoyed if the movie version doesn't match the standards of the book. It's a shame the only other person to share an interest in literature is Kanzaki... (I was really debating including a bonus scene here, but the chapter's gone on pretty long already, so I had to cut it.)
> 
> Next Up: The final four! (If you've been keeping track of the students, maybe you're a bit confused. Make sure to include EVERYONE when counting off students. You may be forgetting someone obscure...)


	8. Fuwa, Kataoka, Ritsu, and... Onaga?

Under the soft glow of her desk lamp, Megu Kataoka casually flipped through her notes again. She had read through her notebooks countless times by now, going through each page until the sentences started to ingrain themselves in her head. After she had woken from her light sleep, the first thing she had done was run through the lessons yet again, a task she had continued for the past hour or so.

"5 minutes to arrival!" Ritsu's simulated voice rang out from Kataoka's phone. Nodding once, Kataoka reminded herself of today's plans. In approximately 5 minutes time, Fuwa would arrive so they could begin their review session. Although… Ritsu didn't really need the review, so it was more of a private tutoring session with Fuwa. 

_Some things never change, huh?_ Once again, she was tutoring other classmates, despite that being the reason she was in 3-E in the first place. For some odd reason, knowing that others were depending on her gave Kataoka the extra motivation to push harder in her own studies. _Still… It’s best if I don’t overdo it._

 _Knock, Knock._ Just on time, a knock on the door resounded. Blinking away the eye strain, Kataoka headed over to let Fuwa in. Her eyes narrowed as she stifled a yawn, a side-effect of her overnight reviews. Wiping away the last vestiges of sleep from her eyes, Kataoka opened the door. Standing outside were two girls. One of them was Fuwa, her distinctive purple bob cut giving her away. The other was a face Kataoka couldn’t quite place. Brownish hair, plump cheeks, and a narrow set of eyes all triggered some odd memory she couldn’t fully access in her sleep-deprived state. The girl mostly hid behind Fuwa, perhaps suggesting some awkwardness? It was hard to tell.

“Kataoka, do you remember her?” Still shaking off the sleep, Kataoka shook her head in confusion. A cheeky grin on her face, Fuwa shrugged. “Thought so. Her name’s Nise Onaga, a one-off character we met a while back. I thought she could use some more screentime, so I brought her over. Technically, she is part of Class 3-E after all!”

Her sleep-addled mind still reeling, Kataoka's couldn't process all the information presented. Slow realization dripped into her mind. _Nise Onaga… Fake Ritsu?!_ “Wait. You’re the chairman’s daughter, correct?”

Onaga nodded hesitantly. “Yes... Miss Fuwa invited me over to visit you. Dad thinks I’m spending the day with friends, so I’m free the whole day.”

“Are you saying the four of us aren’t friends?” Fuwa grinned. Before Onaga could reply, Fuwa interrupted her. “Because you’re right… for now. If all goes well, this could be the start of something wonderful.”

* * *

Sitting in Kataoka’s one-room apartment, Fuwa watched as sleep gradually left the _ikemen’s_ face. Sipping a cup of coffee, Kataoka’s stare gradually became more and more focused, her face returning into it’s default expression. Onaga was awkwardly fiddling with her fingers, clearly still uncomfortable in the presence of two strangers. Quickly inspecting the room, Fuwa was impressed. Everything was kept neat and tidy, not an item out of place. Out of the corner of her eye, Fuwa could see a small desk, lamplight still turned on. _Looks like she’s been studying since this morning._

Kataoka was the first to break the silence. “I don’t think we’ve properly introduced before? I’m Megu Kataoka, class representative of 3-E.” She extended her hand in greeting.

“Nise Onaga, daughter of Gouki Onaka.” She took Kataoka’s hand awkwardly, shaking it once before disengaging. 

“May I call you Onaga?” Onaga nodded once. “So, Onaga, is there a reason you’ve come to visit? You don’t usually join us in our tests, so what happened?” Kataoka’s voice was gentle, making sure not to scare or intimidate her.

In response, Onaga looked at Fuwa, as if asking her to speak up. Kataoka’s eyes narrowed as she waited for an explanation. Fuwa shrugged, her eyes filled with excitement. “So… I was thinking. Maybe we can delay the review until tomorrow?”

Kataoka’s glare intensified, her mouth taking another sip of coffee. “What for?” 

“Well, I’ve been thinking. Onaga is technically part of our class due to the Ritsu Situation, but she doesn't even know any of us! Isn’t that sad? So I thought I’d invite her over and spend the day showing her how 3-E works!”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea… You know Koro-sensei wants us to study as hard as we can.”

“But it’s for the ultimate power: Friendship!”

“You’ve watched far too much shonen, Fuwa.” Turning to Onaga, Kataoka’s face softened. “We can introduce you to the rest of the class soon, OK? Right now, me and my _classmate_ here really need to study.” 

Annoyed, Fuwa crossed her arms. “You’re no fun.” Pulling out several historical manga, she handed them over to Onaga. "Wait for me at the bookstore later, OK? I'll get you some screentime, one way or another. Ritsu, please keep her company until I show up."

Bowing shortly, Onaga gratefully took the manga. "Goodbye, Miss Ikemeg! See you later, Miss Fuwa!" With that, Nise Onaga left the room, leaving only the two girls. Neither of them could truly tell, but it seemed like Ritsu had accompanied Onaga out. As the door shut, an lonesome emptiness filled the room. 

"Wait, did she just call me an Ikemen?"

* * *

"So, what's your gimmick?" Double checking, Fuwa looked around the room for anything interesting, perhaps a hint of the thrilling adventures Kataoka had planned. With both Onaga and Ritsu gone, it was becoming increasingly obvious that the room wasn’t holding anything special.

"Huh?" 

"You know… Your cool lesson plan that exemplifies your signature personality trait?"

"I… what?” Kataoka’s face held a strange mixture of confusion, exasperation, and annoyance. 

"Wait.” A single eyebrow raised, the detective crossed her arms in disappointment. “Don’t tell me you were just planning to read off your notebook the entire time?"

"Yes? Isn't that how normal people review?"

"But that's boring! Besides, if I wanted to spend the day listening to a voice, I would have just gone with Ritsu!" 

Kataoka took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "Look. I spent all of last night studying so I could help you today. If you're not going to take this seriously, then I'm just going back to sleep.”

"Ok, fine. Let’s just get it over with.” Giving in, Fuwa slammed down into her chair. _Today’s going to be nothing but filler, isn’t it..._

* * *

Seated right outside the bookstore, Onaga hunched over Fuwa’s latest recommendation. Detailing the story of the French Revolution in classic manga style, the current arc was going through the fall of the _Bastille._ In one hand, Onaga held up her phone so Ritsu could (quite literally) scan the pages. Due to the manga being an obscure new release, no copies existed on the internet for Ritsu to download.

“Ritsu, who’s that?” With her free hand, Onaga pointed at a snobby-looking old man in a wig. 

“Bernard-René Jourdan de Launay. Born in 1740, he was appointed governor of the _Bastille_ on 1776 after succeeding M. De Jumilhac. His 13 year tenure as the governor of the Bastille was mostly uneventful. Dying on-”

“Please don’t spoil what happens next, Ritsu…” Interrupting the trivia session, Onaga went through the manga collection in engrossed silence. With bated breath, both girl and AI watched as the Bastille went up in flames.

* * *

Fuwa was right. This was boring. Having tuned out Kataoka's endless cacophony a while ago, Fuwa was now doodling in her notebook pages. Gaze transfixed solely on her notebook, Kataoka was lecturing her on a topic that wasn’t important to the narrative. Stacked off to the side, coffee mugs were haphazardly placed over each other, fuel for the endless flow of information. Not that Fuwa cared, because it was unlikely this scene would even make it’s way into the manga. At best, maybe they would show a flashback to this moment to show how her grades had drastically improve-

"You're not paying attention, are you?" Forgoing the usual expressions of confusion and annoyance, Kataoka was now just displaying pure exasperation. _I stayed up until three in the morning for this?!_

"Wait, how did you know?"

"You're drawing stick figures with a dead look on your face. I don't think there's any way to look even more bored."

"I'm sorry, but this is really boring… I'm sure everyone would want to see something more interesting!”

"Don't you mean _anyone_?"

"Nope, everyone."

Kataoka sighed to herself. Fuwa was doing another one of her " _fourth-wall breaks"_ that everyone just played along with. How was she supposed to teach someone who considered life only through the eyes of a Mangaka? Suddenly, inspiration struck. _All right, Fuwa. I'll play your little game._ "Ok, Fuwa. Let's imagine we're actors in a comedy play. You would be the energetic comic relief, correct?"

"Yep!"

"And I would be the serious, grumpy character to balance you out, correct?"

"You already are."

Kataoka resisted the urge to groan in frustration. "So, shouldn't the funny character be the one to make the exciting things happen, while the serious character gets annoyed?"

"Well, yes, but... Where are you going with this?"

"If you wanted something exciting or funny to happen, you should have been the one to cause it, not me." Rolling her eyes, Kataoka hoped that the shock of her call out would finally snap Fuwa out of her boredom.

It did, but not in the way she had expected. Fuwa's face paled, irises shrinking in surprise. "Could it be? I've violated the code of all comedic side characters! I've only made things more boring, not more interesting! I have to make this up to the audience!”

Kataoka looked at her in confusion, a sweat drop on her face. “Or you could just stop treating real life like a manga and study with me…”

“No! Even if this is just filler content, we’re going to make it exciting filler content! C’mon, let’s go!” Dragging Kataoka out the door, Fuwa rushed out immediately in search of a new adventure. _We’re going to make today so exciting that the story had no choice but to focus on us!_

  
  
  


* * *

_Bonus Scene:_

"And then after that, we spent the rest of the day exploring the city and discovering new things!” Sitting in a bus seat, Fuwa happily prattled into her phone. Grinning ear to ear, she recalled all the exciting, gag-worthy moments that had happened in the past few hours. _Yep, those should be exciting enough to warrant an entire extra chapter in the manga! And the look on Kataoka’s face… Priceless!_ “But enough about me, how did your day go?”

“Well, Kayano and Hazama got into a little argument and the kitchen got trashed. They’re cleaning it right now. I hope they talk to each other while they do…” Hara’s voice warbled out from the phone. 

“Looks like you guys got into a little situation as well, huh?”

“I guess you could call it that. But, Fuwa…” Hara’s voice dipped ever so slightly. “How much did you actually study?”

“Uh… Well… Dammit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok... For the ones that were used to a once every 2-3 day upload schedule... sorry. This chapter was probably the most painful of them all to write for me, which is why it took roughly 5 days to even come up with.
> 
> First questions first, though. Nise Onaga is the official name of Fake Ritsu, the Ritsu stand in we see occasionally whenever Ritsu needs to attend an event physically. Technically, she isn't part of 3-E, but I wanted to throw her in anyways because the chapter was pretty boring otherwise... 
> 
> That being said, I won't lie: In my own opinion, this is the weakest chapter of the entire fanfic. I can't do much with Kataoka's personality, so I just tried making fourth wall jokes. If you've got any ideas on how I could have done a better job with the this one, PLEASE tell me. It'll help if I ever have to use Kataoka, Fuwa, or the others in another story.
> 
> Next up: I'm not sure. Either I leave the fanfic (which is technically complete now) or I show the aftermath of the test. That being said, I'm pretty excited for the next fanfic idea I'm going to write! (It's Nagikae. But not really. It's hard to explain.)


	9. Epilogue

The cheery radiance of the sun brung to mind the perfect fairytale opening. In true fairytale fashion, birds were singing, flowers blooming, and not a single cloud was in the sky. Whistling a happy tune to himself, Koro-Sensei took a leisurely Mach 10 pace across the skies. Sipping a cup of tea, he compensated for the momentum mid-flight by picking up the individual droplets as they left the mug. Today was a wonderful day! It was especially wonderful for a special member of the class, who would be celebrating a very important day today.

With the classic Koro-Sensei grin, he stopped right in front of the schoolhouse, where his lovely and cherished students waited happily inside for their next lesson. With a push of his tentacles, the classroom was opened, revealing all 27 of his students being sad and gloomy?! No, No, this wouldn’t do at all! Slightly dampening his smile to show sadness (not that anybody noticed), he addressed his class in his most sympathetic voice. “What seems to be troubling you today, class? It’s better that Sensei knows now, so our very short lesson won’t get distracted.”

_ Lesson? Did Koro-Sensei forget about the quiz?!  _ Like batteries had just been stuck into every single person, the entire class shook their heads so fast that only a Mach 20 superbeing could have caught their movement. "N-Nothing, sir! Just start the lesson!"

Thoroughly perplexed and befuddled, Koro-Sensei decided not to question it. “Let’s begin roll ca-”

_ CRASH!  _ With a mighty slam, Okano hurtled into the room with the strength of a thousand panicked students. "Sorry, I overslept! Am I too late for the quiz now?"

Slackjawed, all 27 students watched in despair as their one chance for escape was ripped to shreds by Okano's admission. In dawning realization, Koro-Sensei's face turned to abject horror. "NYUA?! I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THE TEST! SIT TIGHT, MY STUDENTS, I'LL BE BACK SOON!" With that, he burst out of the room at full Mach-20 speed.

"Quick!" Terasaka roared. "Block the door before he gets-"

Koro-Sensei rematerialized in front of them, now holding a stack of papers as tall as him.

"back..."

* * *

Like soldiers coming home from the end of a terrible war, the students of Class 3E handed in their test papers. Aching hands, glassy stares, and throbbing headaches all signalled the end of brutally merciless battle against the forces of learning and education. 

Not all of them had lived to see the finale. As soon as the tests were passed, Terasaka collapsed into his desk, mumbling random scientific gibberish. Sporting heavy eyebags, Hayami, Kurahashi, Okano, and Yada were all gently snoring away at their desks, a consequence of having to work all night to pass a 50-page essay. 

In the blink of an eye, their test papers were returned to them. Before any of them could flip them over, however, Koro-Sensei audibly cleared his... throat?  _ Does he even have one of those? _ "Before we announce the results, I have a very special announcement! One of us had  _ very cruelly _ forgotten to mention his birthday was today, thus denying us all the pleasure of celebrating it with him! As your very caring teacher, I cannot let such a travesty pass by me, so I'm announcing it to you all!"

A certain bluenette began hiding under his desk, to try and avoid the worst of the storm. 

"Happy birthday, Nagisa Shiota!"

"WHAT?!" The entire class chorused. In an instant, several pairs of hands yanked Nagisa out of his hiding spot and into the spotlight. Brought out of his refuge, the poor boy was now locked under the scrutinizing glare of all his classmates. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?!"

"It's not that important, guys, really." Nagisa found himself sweating under the intense heat.  _ Even Kayano and Hara look mad… _

"Hey, teach. Aren't you gonna give Nagisa some extra credit?" With a wolf's grin on his face, Karma took advantage of the situation to give Nagisa an extra boost. "Surely you're not heartless enough to fail a student on his birthday, right?"

"Nyua? Of course not!" Nagisa's papers fluttered in disturbance. Peeking underneath the paper, a crudely scribbled  _ +5 _ was scribbled  on it. "Sensei's dismissing you all early as well, so we can all properly celebrate my dear student's birthday! But before the celebrations can really begin, Sensei still has to announce the test results." Extremely worried now, Nagisa began mulling over all the possible uses of the word  _ we. _

Thoroughly energized and all fired up, the class waited with bated breath as Koro-Sensei theatrically cleared his breath. The top scorers were all the usual suspects, with Karma continuing to monopolize the top spot effortlessly. Most of the real suspense came from the  _ most improved  _ category, a section Koro-Sensei came up with to make the less academically inclined students feel better. Magically swapping into a fancy tuxedo and tie, Koro-Sensei began announcing the grand winners like one would for the Oscars or any other high-end award ceremony.

"And for the third spot… For marked improvements in the field of Language Arts… Please give a round of applause to…  _ Manami Okuda!"  _ Eyes wide open in shock, Okuda let out a muffled squeak as the entire class burst into applause. Off to the side, Nakamura crossed her arms in satisfaction, as if to say " _ Yeah. I did that."  _ Kanzaki also clapped happily, perhaps putting in a bit more excitement than she would normally.

"And for the second spot… For drastically improving in the fields of mathematics and biology… Please give a hearty round of applause to…  _ Justice Kimura!" _ Letting out a wild whoop, Justice did a fist pump as the entire class applauded again. Swifter than lightning, he dashed over to Chiba and Takebayashi's chairs, giving them both excited high fives. All three of them looked especially proud of each other, visible eyes or not.

"And for the final spot… For actually putting effort into his test this time… Please give a round of applause to… _ Ryouma Terasaka!" _ No applause came this time. Instead, the entire class stared in awe at the still-comatose Terasaka. The award-winner didn't even respond, choosing instead to continue his well-deserved nap. Some students even glanced out the window, expecting to see pigs flying.

Ripping out of his cheap tuxedo, Koro-Sensei swapped back to his usual teacher's clothes. In place of the usual mortarboard cap was a colorful looking party hat. With a somehow even wider grin than his usual, he turned his head over to the birthday boy. "Well, that's all for today, class. Now then… Shall we begin celebrating?" 

Before he could leap out of the window and escape, Nagisa found himself pinned from all angles by people he once considered friends. All of them had the same nefarious grin that Nagisa thought only Koro-Sensei could wear. "Hold on there, Champ. We're celebrating your special day… Whether you like it or not." 

"Besides, there's no way we'd let the day slide by without doing anything! But on the other hand, it's your birthday and we'll follow your wishes if you- Get him." Before the poor birthday boy could react, he found himself trapped under a mound of bodies. Wrestled to his feet, Nagisa was now held fast by 3E, all of whom were excitedly planning a birthday bash at the spur of the moment.

With the usual smile on his face, Koro-Sensei watched as the class banded together, all memories of the test forgotten in their excitement. They had spent the last few days diligently improving themselves, so now was the time for some good old-fashioned fun!

And besides… Who could turn down free birthday cake?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh boy... I was 100% completely blindsided by Nagisa's birthday being today. Since I didn't have anything planned, I thought I'd just leave my own contribution in the epilogue. (Yes, it's continuity breaking and messes with the timeline horribly. You can forgive me for that, right?) Maybe I'll do a separate fic for Nagisa's actual birthday, but probably not.
> 
> Some deleted scenes I wanted to include, but couldn't: Kataoka revealing that she got a (non-permanent) tattoo from Fuwa's crazy adventures, Okajima trying to pass off his generosity as bribery towards Isogai (and horribly failing), and Rio harassing Kayano for Itona's drone. I like to imagine these scenes happen anyways, but just aren't in the story.
> 
> If you've read this far into the story and have seen all the chapters, I'd like to thank you! While I know this is different from your usual shippy AC fare, I'm glad you gave this silly story of mine a chance. You're free to check out my other works, but most of them aren't as comedy focused as this one, so be properly warned. Once again, thank you and I'll see you around!


End file.
